Indian surgeons find 12 gold bars in man's stomach

By Harmeet Shah Singh, CNN

Updated 11:45 AM ET, Tue April 22, 2014

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Photos:Photos: Stomach full of gold

Stomach full of gold – A New Delhi hospital admitted a 63-year-old man on April 8 after he complained of intestinal pain and nausea. The patient, whose name was not released, was hiding 12 gold bars in his belly. He apparently smuggled them into India to evade import duty, police and doctors said.

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Photos:Photos: Stomach full of gold

Stomach full of gold – Each bar weighed 33 grams, said C.S. Ramachandran, who conducted the surgery at a hospital in New Delhi on April 9.

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Photos:Photos: Stomach full of gold

Stomach full of gold – "We couldn't (either) make out they were gold bars," the doctor said. "But yes, X-Rays showed there was intestinal blockage, which required surgery."

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Photos:Photos: Stomach full of gold

Stomach full of gold – The bars have since been sent to customs, which is conducting a probe, said Alok Kumar, a deputy commissioner of police.

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Story highlights

The 63-year-old man was hospitalized with severe stomach pain and nausea

Stunned doctors pulled out the yellow metal from his stomach

India is the world's second-largest gold market after China

When a team of Indian surgeons opened up the stomach of a patient complaining of abdominal pain, they had no idea they'd extract a fortune.

The patient, whose name was not released, was hiding 12 gold bars in his belly. He apparently smuggled them into India to evade import duty, police and doctors said Tuesday.

Each bar weighed 33 grams, said C.S. Ramachandran, who conducted the surgery at a hospital in New Delhi on April 9.

The 63-year-old patient, an Indian citizen, visited the hospital a day before with severe stomach pain and nausea.

"He told us he had accidentally swallowed the cap of a plastic bottle," Ramachandran said.